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WASHINGTON – Nolan McLean did not throw cleaners at college. At least, he doesn't think he does.
At Oklahoma State, McLean defeated the batsman mainly with his four-slit fastball and pendant. Sometimes he uses his ability to spin the ball naturally, mixing it in a cutter or slider. Mets officials told McLean that he liked one of the right-handed sweepers and that some of his breakthrough courts were so big that there were a lot of balls combined in the MLB pre-draft.
“I thought, 'What is a sweeper? I've never heard of it in my life.'
In this way, the seeds of outstanding stadiums are born.
Back in high school, McLean knew he was good at spinning balls. However, that spring, he began to chase and spin with a new focus. Combined with the meeting, McLean began to repair the sweeping floor in his backyard. He eventually found someone he liked and thought there was enough strength behind it to work at a high level.
After some time, McLean had the opportunity to throw the court in front of the track and field system, which flashed the 80s speed and confirmed his suspicion: that thing could work.
Over the next two years, McLean perfected the sweeper and shaped his curveball and established his minor league reputation as one of the sport's most important spinners. McLean's sweeping game averaged 2,995 rpms and a curve averaged 3,279 in his Major League Baseball debut last Saturday. This is a small sample, but perspective-wise, there are only three regular major league starters this season with higher average sweeping rates. No one has a better average curve rotation rate.
“The curve ball is very unique,” said Mets coach Jeremy Hefner.
For Hefner, the beauty of McLean's curve is not necessarily its rotational speed, but its glove square (left and right) movement, which also brought the Grand Slam to a start. Hefner compared McLean to Phil Maton, a former Mets reliefist who worked on a spin glove side curve ball. The difference is that Maton threw the curve in the mid-70s. McLean spins it at about 80 mph while pairing it with a fastball that can reach above the 90s.
“It's hard to teach,” Hefner said of the spin ability. “I think a lot is born with you. He just kind of.”
At the highest level, spin rate and pitch shapes are not guaranteed to be successful. However, it does make things a lot easier, as McLean showed in his successful debut against the Mariners. Unlike nearly every other top pitching prospect that has passed the New York system in recent years, McLean didn’t struggle when he reached the triple A. McLean's next mission so far will be in a national televised event in Atlanta on Friday night.
McLean is expected to establish himself as the potentially spinning MLB pitcher, continuing to tear apart the high-speed curves and sinking pieces.
“I think it’s just something I blessed,” McLean said of his ability to throw away the court. “Some guys are lucky [vertical movement] On their fastball. I can spin the ball very well. So I'm lucky, I think. ”